Retribution
by MTGMA
Summary: In a quest for retribution, two divergent paths merge to seek a common vengeance. (AU, takes place after Hell in a Cell 2013).
1. The Devil Made Me Do It

It was the night after the Hell in a Cell pay per view, where amidst controversy a new champion was crowned inside the demonic, unforgiving structure. Although no blood was shed, there were tears. The penultimate underdog all his life, Daniel Bryan, fought tooth and nail to prove not just to the world, but to himself, that he deserved to be the face of the WWE and win the organization's most prestigious title, the WWE Championship. The heartless regime hell-bent on doing what's "best for business", named The Authority and headed by the Chief Operating Officer Triple H, put Bryan through obstacle after obstacle after obstacle, but he overcame them all, with the fans on his side. The WWE Universe drowned Bryan in a sea of cheers each and every week, and every week Bryan soaked in all of these cheers and in turn, rallied him to keep on fighting, no matter what Triple H put in his way.

That one word was **YES.**

But by the end of the event, Bryan wasn't shouting yes. Backstage, he shed a tear. No championship, no retribution, no anything. All he got was Sweet Chin Music. A superkick from a man who claimed to be impartial and unbiased heading into the match. A superkick from a man who was his mentor, his trainer, the man who taught him everything he knew.

He was a Hall of Famer, the Heart Break Kid, The Showstopper, Mr. WrestleMania. He was known by many names. But on that fateful night where everything was on the line, he was known as the special guest referee who betrayed his protege. He was Shawn Michaels, and in putting an end to Daniel Bryan's quest to become WWE Champion… he did what was best for business.

But as they say, the show must go on, and today is a new day.

Bryan had just confronted Michaels in the ring, and out of sheer anger, he put his mentor in a Yes Lock. He deemed it sweet retribution, but not enough. He still wasn't the WWE Champion.

Just then, he was ambushed from behind by two men. Tall, intimidating, unkempt, downright scary. One was bald wore a sheep's mask and a dark green outfit, while the other wore a tank top and jeans. Both were eerie-looking. A third man soon showed himself, a man wearing a hat and an unbuttoned hawaiian shirt, a lantern in hand. He was mouthing some words to himself.

Bryan tried putting up a fight as the hat-wearing man smirked at him, seemingly amused. But the numbers game soon got to him.

He then picked Bryan up while laughing to himself and slammed him to a nearby caged wall.

"The devil… made me do it."

And with that, Bryan was unconscious. But during that scuffle, he knew he needed to set aside his aspirations for the WWE Championship for a while. He needed to forget trumping The Authority, because he had a target on his back.

His attackers. Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, collectively known as The Wyatt Family, want him down. And they want him down for good.

…

On the Hell in a Cell pay per view, the man who called himself the best wrestler in the world, CM Punk, had just gained the revenge he had sought for a long time. He was betrayed by his friend, Paul Heyman. Paul and Punk did quite dastardly things together during their partnership, but all that was gone now. Paul, the slithery, conniving genius manager, had his feelings hurt when Punk no longer wanted him by his side. But Punk only wanted to do things on his own. To him, they were still friends.

To Paul, their friendship ended when he heard that statement.

And with that, Paul Heyman threw all he could at Punk in the form of his clients: the hulking beast known as Brock Lesnar roughed Punk up. Another beast, yet of a universally accepted lesser stature, Ryback, took his turn at Punk as well. Add to that equation the second-generation grappler Curtis Axel, and it was sure to make Punk's life a living hell.

It turned the other way around.

It was Punk who made Paul's life a living hell.

After the Best in the World vanquished his final foe in Ryback inside the devilish structure, he soon disposed of the Human Wrecking Ball and turned his full, undivided attention to Heyman. There was no weaseling out for him now, as he received a kendo stick beating atop the Hell in a Cell.

Now, it was the night after Hell in a Cell. A new day for CM Punk to prove himself that he is the best in the world. He then received his next challenge, in the form of a three-on-one beatdown at the hands of The Wyatt Family.

Ominous words soon escaped Bray's mouth as he uttered them softly, "The devil made me do it."


	2. Alliance Formed

Four days have now passed since then, and now it was a Friday night, which meant an episode for SmackDown for the WWE Superstars and Divas.

CM Punk, sporting a dark blue hoodie, sat alone at his personal locker room as he blasted tunes from his iPod, the sound barely escaping from his Beats headphones. He had a look of disdain on his face, trying to drown it away with music. It wasn't working though, as the attack at the hands of the Wyatt Family still lingered on his head. It didn't hurt as much as when he was attacked by Brock Lesnar or Ryback, but he looked at this attack just the same, for he sought to get back at them.

A knock came at the door, and fortunately he was able to hear it. It was Daniel Bryan. Sporting a gray shirt with the words "Respect The Beard" on it with his hair now tied into a knot, Bryan slowly walked right in as Punk went back to his seat.

"Hey, Punk. How's it going?" Bryan says casually.

Punk merely widens his eyes and points to his headphones. Bryan motions for him to remove it, and he does.

"Yo, Daniel. How's it hangin'?"

"Oh, I'm good. Nothing much, except you know, I got jumped last week. Had to go check in with the local hospital, luckily doctors cleared me to compete tonight."

"The Shield must've pulled a fast one on ya, huh?" Punk said, grabbing a bottle of water from a nearby fridge. He tosses a bottle to Bryan.

"It wasn't The Shield."

"Oh, really? Well, that's a first." Punk said, taking big gulps out of his drink.

"It was The Wyatt Family."

Punk spits out his drink in shock.

"What?!"

Bryan nods his head. "Yup. They jumped me, and because of that I was nearly forbidden to compete tonight. But, luckily, doctors did clear me."

"Hmm. You know, it's funny. I don't know if you've heard, unfortunately I wasn't able to hear about yours. But, I was attacked by The Wyatts too."

"Really now?" Bryan says, scratching his beard and squinting.

"Uh huh. So, there could be a million reasons why they chose to attack you, and why they chose to attack me. But there's two reasons that spring to mind right now."

"And what are those reasons?"

"Well, buddy." Punk says putting an arm around Bryan. "Reason one, is that we're two devilishly handsome, good-looking guys."

Bryan snickers. "Well, that is true. Can't deny that."

"Reason two, is that they've got beef with us. Now, I'm not opposed to them being jealous of our good looks, but my gut tells me it's the latter."

"What do you propose we do with it?"

"We fight back."


	3. Your Sins Will Find You Out

The rock version of Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner blares throughout the sound system of the arena, and fans knew instinctively what to say. With their arms stretched up in the air with fingers pointed to the sky, the crowd chants _YES! YES! YES! _

Daniel Bryan now made his way to the ring, rallying up the members of the WWE Universe in attendance with a rally towel in hand, shouting _YES! _with them. He goes up the top turnbuckle and continues his well-known battle cry as his theme music fades.

Just then, a screech is heard as a split-second of eerie images invade the Titantron, ending with Erick Rowan donning a sheep mask staring blankly. The whole arena goes pitch black, as we now see Bray Wyatt, flanked by his family members, holding a lantern.

"We're here." He whispers, and blows his lantern.

As the lights go back on, Erick Rowan is already in the ring, with Bray Wyatt outside the ring sitting in his rocking chair, with Luke Harper by his side. Bray looks at Bryan with a sinister grin on his face, muttering words Bryan couldn't hear.

The bell rings as the referee now motions for the match to get underway. Bryan decides to circle Rowan, yet Rowan stands still at the corner with his sheep mask still on. Bryan cautiously approaches Rowan, and without hesitation, kicks him in the leg repeatedly, the crowd chanting _YES! _with each kick. Rowan grunts with every kick Bryan deals to him, and he grabs Bryan by the head and pushes him to the mat. But just like that, Bryan was back up and kicking at Rowan again, now this time with both lefts and rights. The chants of _YES! _now start to go raucous, but Rowan doesn't seem to execute any offense… or _want _to execute any offense.

The referee is puzzled by this and asks Bryan to step out of the way for a moment. He looks at Rowan and waves at him. "Rowan? Rowan?" Then he makes the grave mistake of trying to remove Rowan's sheep mask.

And with that, it seemed that a switch inside of Rowan was flicked. He grabs the referee by his shirt collar and threw him into the corner. Rowan began to pummel the referee with stomps, and Bryan steps in kicking Rowan in the shins again. The referee is startled and calls for the bell as the crowd boos. Bryan grabs Rowan's arms and tries to ground him for a Yes Lock, but Luke Harper steps in and ambushes Bryan from behind, and the two now barrage Bryan with vicious kicks and punches.

Bray is amused with what he's seeing as he slowly rises out of his rocking chair and tosses his hat aside. The assault continues on, and now Bray has entered the ring.

"Your sins will find you out, Daniel Bryan! Your sins! Your—"

_FZZT, FZZT._

The crowd goes into frenzy as wild static screeches itself all over the arena, as the intro to Cult of Personality by Living Colour is played. CM Punk comes marching down to the ring, and once he gets there, he wastes no time in aiding his friend, delivering a stiff kick to the back of Rowan's head, knocking him out instantly. He dodges Harper's clothesline, and when Wyatt's black bearded lackey turns around, he eats a kick from Punk as well.

Punk was now a few feet away from Bray and ready to tussle when the Eater of Worlds slowly waves his finger while cackling to himself.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You're too much in a hurry, Punk."

And with that Bray slowly exits the ring and picks up Rowan and Harper, who are knocked out on the cold concrete floor outside the ring.

"Come on out here and fight like a man!" Punk shouts repeatedly at them.

"Not tonight, boys… not tonight." Bray whispers to his family members.

He then stares at Punk and screams in his loudest possible voice.

"FOLLOW THE BUZZARDS!"


End file.
